Late afternoon the next day, they sat on the deck of a small cabin cruiser, covertly studying the cliff face below the compound. Manuel had arranged for the boat and private dock and they were playing the part of honeymooners lazily cruising the Caribbean.
“It’s too sheer and too high to be a feasible path of access,” Beatrice said. -
“I agree.” Joe began to guide the boat back to its dock. “We’ll wait and watch for a couple of days.”
Beatrice frowned. “She was too easy to find.”
“And her trail led practically directly to Sanchez.”
“Maybe she’s decided to retire and live off her ill-gotten gains.”
“In that case, we snatch her and take her back to Tobias. We don’t have any solid evidence to use against her for the munitions thefts, but he should be able to trace some of the money she’s made. We’ll nail her for tax evasion.”
“Or maybe she’s been set up the way Knight and I were,” Beatrice cautioned.
“True,” he agreed. “In that case, we still have to snatch her because once they’re certain we’ve seen her here, they’ll kill her.”
Beatrice looked at him. “But how do we find out the truth?”
“One step at a time.”
“In other words, we play it by ear.”
He winked at her to let her know she’d stated the situation correctly.
“Looks like our quarry is on the move,” Beatrice announced. She and Joe had been taking turns with the binoculars, watching the comings and goings of the occupants of the compound from a hidden vantage point across from the guarded gate. It was nearly eight at night.
Joe had been asleep. In an instant he was alert. “Is she alone?”
“Chauffeured in an open convertible. Federico is with her. They look like they’re enjoying each other’s company,” Beatrice replied.
“Dinner in town?”
“That’d be my guess.”
“Bodyguards?”
“There was another man in front with the chauffeur. A second car followed. It was a sedan. I couldn’t tell for sure, but I think there were two inside.”
Joe was already on his way to their vehicle. Beatrice hurried after him. They caught up with the two cars at the bottom of the hill. Entering town, the convertible led the way to one of the nightspots. The second man from the convertible and the two men from the sedan followed Susan and
Federico inside, flanking them in a protective manner. The chauffeur remained with the cars.
Four hours later, Beatrice was asleep when the sound of the engine starting woke her.
“Looks like they’re calling it a night,” Joe said, giving the convertible and sedan a chance to get a little ways ahead, then pulling out after them.
Back at their vantage point across from the compound, as she sat watching the gate once again with Joe stretched out beside her, sleeping, she smiled at herself. She was actually happy. No one in their right mind would enjoy kneeling in the midst of bushes and underbrush, with insects the size of her fingers, maybe even hands, and who knew what else crawling and flying around in the dark, their eyes glued to a pair of binoculars for hours on end. But she didn’t mind because Joe was there with her. This was definitely love.
After a couple of hours, she woke him. “Looks like they’re settled in for the night. How about if we go back to the boat and get some sleep?”
She saw him hesitate and knew it wasn’t the risk of losing Susan that worried him. “I have promised to behave myself.”
“I suppose it’s safe. At least we’ll have separate bunks,” he said, pushing himself to his feet and offering her a hand up.
That he was so concerned about their close proximity was a sure sign she was wearing him down, she told herself. “You can’t run away from your feelings forever,” she warned him as they drove to the dock.
“I’m not running from them. I’m controlling them for both our sakes.”
“You don’t have to strain yourself on my behalf.”
He said nothing but she saw his jaw harden into a resolute line. Don’t go too fast, she cautioned herself once again. But later, as she lay alone in her bunk, she fell asleep cursing his single-minded resolve.
“She’s on the move again,” Joe said.
This was their third day of watching Susan’s movements. Only today would be different. After an intensive investigation and the calling in of several favors, Tobias had traced an account in the Cayman Islands to her. It contained a hundred thousand dollars. This was only a small portion of what she would have acquired through the years. The rest, he was certain, was scattered around the world in other accounts. He was continuing his search. In the meantime, he’d ordered her brought home.
Beatrice had been lying back going over the various plans she and Joe had discussed to accomplish their assignment. Now she sat up, her mind alert. “How many companions?”
“Just the chauffeur and one bodyguard.”
Beatrice smiled. “Shopping again?”
“Let’s hope so,” Joe replied.
Each of the past two days, Susan had gone into town for a couple of hours of shopping, wandering from stall to stall and store to store while the chauffeur and bodyguard watched over her.
“Third store,” Beatrice said.
“Third store,” Joe confirmed.
Beatrice stayed close. Joe hung back. The bodyguard and chauffeur, they’d noted, were not as alert as they could have been. They allowed Susan to go into the shops alone, preferring to wait outside on the street. Either they were bored by their job or felt confident about being in control on their home turf.
Silently, Beatrice groaned. Susan seemed more interested in window-shopping than going into stores today. Glancing over her shoulder at Joe, she gave him a single wink.
He winked back.
They would take her in the first store. Returning her attention to her quarry, she saw Susan disappearing into the entrance of a dress shop. Quickly she followed her inside.
Waiting until Susan was as far to the back of the store as possible, Beatrice approached her. For the benefit of the salesgirl standing nearby, she smiled broadly. “Susan, what a pleasant surprise to see you here.”
Shock registered on the blonde’s face. “Thistle?”
“Why don’t we go have coffee and talk? I haven’t seen you in ages.” Beatrice let her gaze drop to her pocket for a second to let Susan know she had a weapon.
“Yes, of course,” Susan replied, still looking and sounding confused by Beatrice’s unexpected appearance.
Turning to the salesgirl, Beatrice smiled beseechingly. “I was with a gentleman but he’s gotten to be a bore. I ducked in here to get rid of him. Is there a back door to this place?”
The girl smiled knowingly and pointed toward the rear exit.
“Thanks so much.” Beatrice slipped her a ten-dollar bill. “And if he comes in looking for me, you’ll tell I’m trying on dresses?”
The girl’s smile broadened. “You saw many you loved,” she said.
Beatrice was counting on the bodyguard simply asking about “the woman” who had entered the shop. It would take a while for him and the salesgirl to figure out they were talking about the wrong person. All Beatrice and Joe needed was a couple of minutes’ head start. “Shall we go get that coffee?” she said, motioning for Susan to precede her to the exit.
“Would you please tell me what’s going on?” Susan demanded as soon as they were outside.
“Just keep quiet and do what I say.” Deciding that a threat was the best way to gain cooperation, she added, “Tobias wants to speak to you. If we can’t bring you back to him, he wants you dead. At the moment, I don’t think he cares much which way. It’s your choice.”
Susan paled. “I don’t understand.”
“Just come with me.” Beatrice guided her to where Joe was waiting with the car.
Seeing him, Susan gasped. “Coyote? But you’re dead!”
Beatrice had to admit Susan looked as if she were seeing a ghost.
“Those reports were grievously exaggerated,” Joe replied as Beatrice opened the back door of the car and gave Susan a nudge.
“I don’t understand,” Susan muttered again, following the unspoken order and climbing into the car. As Beatrice climbed in beside her and Joe drove away, tears welled in Susan’s eyes. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
The blonde looked terrified and Beatrice found herself feeling sorry for the woman. “What were you doing at Federico Fernandez’s estate?”
“I met him about a month ago. We fell in love. He brought me here to meet his parents. We were talking about getting married.” Her eyes rounded as if the truth had just dawned on her. “He isn’t just a wealthy businessman like he told me?”
“He is a wealthy businessman. His business just happens to be on the shady side,” Beatrice replied.
Susan looked sick. “Oh,” she said weakly. Then her shoulders straightened with defiance. “I don’t run security checks on all the men I date. Surely Tobias can’t sanction my death just because I made a lousy choice.”
Again Beatrice found herself tempted to believe the woman. But that wasn’t her decision. It was Tobias’s job to find out the truth. She and Joe were simply to get Susan back. Normally she would have said nothing more, but in this instance she couldn’t make herself keep quiet. She’d been set up and she wasn’t going to let that happen to someone else. “Your choice of companions isn’t the primary reason Tobias wants to talk to you.”
“What am I supposed to have done?” Susan demanded.
“Masterminded munitions thefts.” As she made this statement, Beatrice studied the woman’s reaction. Again the shock looked real. It was followed by indignation.
“You two are nuts!” Susan’s voice held a note of panic. “I can barely organize a shopping list.”
“You can plead your case once we’ve gotten you back home,” Joe said.
“I thought Tobias had retired. I thought Harold was calling the shots now.” Susan paled. “A bad choice of words, I hope.”
“As long as you cooperate, no harm will come to you from us,” Beatrice assured her.
Looking unconvinced and scared, Susan sat back.
Making certain they weren’t followed, Joe drove to their private dock. He and Beatrice had decided to sail north to Chetumal rather than try to make a break overland.
After securely tying Susan and leaving her lying on one of the bunks in the cabin, Beatrice joined him on deck.
“I’d feel better if this thing had a little more speed,” he said, steering them out into open water.
“We wanted to look like tourists enjoying the beauty of the Caribbean,” she reminded him. Picking up the binoculars, she began to scan the horizon. To her relief there was nothing but blue sky and nearly deserted shoreline.
For the next hour and a half she continued to watch for pursuers. But instead of relaxing as the time lengthened and they appeared to have made a clean escape, she remained tense.
“I hate looking a gift horse in the mouth, but this was too easy,” she said, breaking the silence between her and Joe. “She goes into town shopping every day. Her bodyguards let her go into the stores alone, providing the perfect opportunity for a snatch. When she first recognized me, I’d swear she was surprised and confused, but not afraid.”
The sound of a helicopter caught her attention. In the next instant a bullet hit the deck beside her. “Maybe this isn’t going to be as easy as I thought,” she said, diving for cover.
Joe had been keeping the coast in sight. Now he turned toward it. “Get a life jacket on,” he ordered.
She’d already thought of that. Tossing one to him, she pulled hers on while making a dash for the cabin with a third. “Looks like your friends might be coming for you,” she said, unfastening Susan’s hands and sitting her up on the bunk to put the jacket on her.
“They aren’t my friends,” Susan insisted.
A barrage of shots came from above and Beatrice heard the thud of bullets hitting the deck. Letting out a shriek of fear, Susan curled up on the bunk, covering her head with her arms.
Joe was zigzagging the boat to make it difficult for whoever was in the helicopter to take aim. His actions were also making it hard for Beatrice to maintain her balance. She looked down at the woman lying on the bunk. Another spray of bullets sounded and Susan curled tighter.
“They’re aiming at the fuel tank. We’re going to have to abandon ship!” Joe yelled from above.
Susan sat up abruptly. Tears of fear welled in her eyes. “You’re not going to leave me here, are you?”
“No.” Beatrice unfastened her feet. “Stay close and stay down.”
“I’ve been working my way toward shore,” Joe yelled to them, as he steered the boat hard to the right. “After the next zag I’m guiding us up onto the beach. Be ready to jump and try to keep cover between you and the copter.”
“Just think of this as an exercise in amphibious landing in hostile territory,” Beatrice told Susan. “According to your records, you’ve some training in that.”
“They didn’t use live ammunition in our training maneuvers,” Susan returned. “And that was a lot of years ago. I’ve been sitting behind a desk for a long time. I’ll admit I work out at my local health spa, but jogging around the indoor track is not the same as running from someone shooting at me.”
Beatrice ignored the woman’s nervous chatter. She was watching the shore. “Jump,” she ordered, grabbing Susan’s arm and pulling the blonde with her over the side. They landed in shallow water. Both were on their feet instantly, heading for shore and the cover of the trees beyond.
Behind them, they heard the helicopter, more shots, then an explosion. Reaching the trees, they each chose one and flattened against it, keeping the trunk between themselves and the shore.
Shakily, Beatrice looked back to where the boat had beached. Pieces of it were scattered in the water and along the shore. What was still intact was burning. The shooter had finally hit his mark. The helicopter buzzed overhead for a couple of minutes, then flew off to the south.
She scanned the beach for Joe. She didn’t see him. Panic swept through her.
“Where’s Coyote?” Susan asked shakily.
“I don’t know.” Beatrice marveled that the words had come so crisply, as if she was in total control.
Susan sank to the ground. “I suppose you can be calm because you and he are used to facing death. I’m not.”
Her own death, Beatrice could have faced. But the thought of losing Joe was causing bile to rise in her throat.
“Even if he’s out of gas, he could have called for reinforcements,” Joe growled from behind her. “We have to get moving!”
Joy filled her. Jerking around, she saw him watching her. His expression told her he’d guessed she’d momentarily forgotten the first rule of survival—don’t give in to emotion. And he wasn’t pleased.
Her gaze met his. “It was only a momentary lapse,” she assured him.
“A momentary lapse can get you killed,” he returned curtly.
“What are you talking about?” Susan was again on her feet.
“Nothing important,” Beatrice replied. “Let’s get going.”
Joe gave her a “We’ll finish this later” look, then led the way into the interior.
Motioning for Susan to follow behind him, Beatrice took the rear position. As they moved north, keeping out of sight, a thought nagged at her.
“Coyote, take a break,” she said.
He turned to her, an impatient frown on his face. “We should put as much distance between ourselves and that wreck as quickly as possible.”
“Something is bothering me.”
“Can’t you talk while we keep moving?” Susan asked, glancing anxiously over her shoulder.
The impatience had gone from Joe’s face. “I think we should listen to what Thistle has to say.”
“I’ve been wondering how they knew for certain we were the ones they were looking for? Even if they had a description of me from the salesgirl, they didn’t hover above for a closer look. They started firing as soon as we were in their sights.”
“Maybe we weren’t as clever as we thought. Maybe we were spotted before the snatch and they knew about the private dock and the boat.”
“But they came up so fast. They couldn’t possibly have made a positive identification before they started shooting.” She was frowning at the brooch on Susan’s blouse.
“It was a gift from Federico,” Susan explained, following the line of Beatrice’s gaze.
“Those bodyguards of yours were pretty lax,” Beatrice said.
Susan shrugged. “I didn’t understand why I needed them in the first place. But Federico said it wasn’t always safe for a woman to travel alone.”
Joe began to see where Beatrice was going. “It was if they were nothing more than window dressing.”
“I’d like to see that brooch.” Beatrice held her hand out.
Nervously Susan removed it. “Take it,” she said, looking at it as if it were a poisonous insect.
Extracting a small pocketknife, Beatrice carefully pried the brooch apart. “Looks like a homing device. And it was well sealed. It’s my guess it’s still working.”
“He had me bugged?” Fury flared in Susan’s eyes. “I thought the man was in love with me. Instead, he bugged me and then tried to kill me!”
“With all three of us gone, that would have tied up the loose ends,” Joe said, thoughtfully. “It would be assumed that Susan tried to escape and we all died in her thwarted attempt.”
Beatrice was continuing to frown at the transmitter. “They knew where we were all along. Why wait until now to do us in?”
“Maybe they wanted to be certain we were in the middle of nowhere in case we escaped their attack,” Susan suggested, her gaze traveling around the untamed wilderness.
“Which means they’ll come looking for us.” Joe took the brooch, closed it, then gave it a strong toss to their rear. “Now let’s get out of here.”
As if to confirm his words, from above they heard the sound of a helicopter.
“They’ve already found us,” Susan gasped.
“Stay hidden,” Joe ordered, taking his gun from his shoulder holster.
“I hate crawly things,” Susan grumbled under her breath as she crouched low, staring at the ground for any unwelcome companions.
“You’ll hate dying more,” Beatrice returned.
“Quiet!” Joe growled.
Beatrice moved closer to his position. She always felt stronger and more confident in his presence. And the nearer, the better. “You take the north and west. I’ll take the south and east,” she said, squatting with her back against his, the pistol she’d had holstered beneath her loose-fitting tunic top now out and at the ready. She glanced at Susan. “You just keep very low.”
Forgetting her dislike of communing with the creatures on the ground, Susan flattened herself and covered her head with her arms.
The copter hovered over a spot in the direction Joe had tossed the brooch, then went higher. Abruptly it banked to the right, then began to descend.
“If we can get to that machine, I can fly it,” Susan volunteered.
Beatrice looked at her. “Are you sure?”
“I dated a helicopter pilot. He taught me. And if it’s the same kind of machine Federico flew me here in, I watched the pilot and recognized the controls.”
Beatrice glanced over her shoulder at Joe.
“It’s probably our best bet for getting out of here,” he said, already moving in the direction of the copter’s descent.
As the engines of the machine were cut, they could hear men shouting to one another. Drawing closer, they saw three men with Uzis. One of the three was the bodyguard who had been assigned to Susan. He was holding a portable locator. He motioned for the other two men to flank him, each about ten feet to either side, and all three headed into the jungle.
“Nice of them to leave their transportation unguarded,” Susan said. “Looks like luck is with us this time.”
Joe held out his hand to keep her from moving forward. “Let’s make certain they leave first.”
Susan paled at her impetuousness and huddled more closely into her hiding place.
Joe counted to twenty, then with a wave of his arm motioned for the others to follow as he headed to the machine. Looking inside, he scowled. “No key.”
“No problem.” Susan was grinning. “My pilot friend showed me how to hot-wire one of these. But don’t ask why.”
“Just do it,” Joe ordered.
Susan’s grin disappeared.
Joe climbed into the copilot’s chair. Beatrice took the seat behind him. Both kept their eyes in the direction the men had gone, their guns held at the ready.
Muttering prayers under her breath, Susan worked swiftly. “Let’s hope this starts on the first try,” she said. It didn’t.
Beatrice heard their pursuers shouting and crashing through the undergrowth toward them.
Susan tried again. This time the engine started. The blades created a whirlwind. As the gunmen ran into the clearing, they were forced to cover their faces and retreat. Before they could recover, the copter was on its way up. Joe and Beatrice fired, forcing them to retreat farther. Only one managed to get off a round before they were totally out of range. All of his shots missed.
“This has got to be a first,” Susan yelled above the engines. “The snatchee saving the snatchers. Now do you believe I’m innocent?”
“Maybe Sanchez wanted you dead. He could have been afraid you’d link him to your crimes and give the Mexican government the evidence they need to arrest him,” Joe returned.
“I don’t know any Sanchez!” Susan insisted.
“Head west,” Joe ordered.